A Plague of Angels

Often (most dramatically with _Beauty_) I love the start of a Tepper novel and then it... goes in directions I don't love at all. I was a bit more lukewarm about the start of this, and perhaps because of that had no disappointment about its direction. It trundled along fleshing out a complex post-apocalyptic world full of resurgent fantastical creatures and diverse societies at various levels of technological retention, ranging from subsistence farming to space travel. Tepper is still that brand of feminist who seems to consider that the perfect society will solve all gender issues by simply separating men from women in all things except sexual intercourse, and will still take for granted that men are predisposed to be best at hunting show more and guarding and suchlike duties. Nor does she seem to feel that wiping out entire cities (nasty and brutish as they are) with a manmade plague is a rather extreme recourse. But the plot carried the characters along at a sufficiently entertaining pace, posing and answering mysteries all in due course, and leading to a solid ending - so this is my favourite Tepper yet. show less

A really, really good book. It starts with the idea of Archetypal Villages, traditional storybook-style villages where the archetypes live: Hero, Orphan, Oracle, and a few that are just as important but take a little imagination to include: Drowned Woman, Spinster Sister, and Burned Man. As the children who begin this book begin their own lives and journeys, the reader learns more about this world. It has a culture built on the ruins of the old one, it includes cities with gangbangers as well as farms that feed the people, and sexually transmitted diseases that kill (here called IDDIs).

Tepper's imagination has continued to grow and create and this book is no exception. The evil is mindless and full of itself as a dictator would be, and show more those who combat the evil are wise but slow to act. And their slowness is part of their wisdom though it is not easy for the characters to deal with. There are even talking animals! Which makes my heart happy. The main characters have a good deal of charisma in addition to their common humanity and that charisma makes their ability and willingness to lead others believable. Definitely glad I read it and will look for Vol. 2. show less

It is hard to describe this book, honestly it is just one of those books you have to read to understand. I have read a Tepper book before, and she does have a way to build a story. It's filled with marvelous things.

This book starts as fantasy, but nothing is as it seems. No it is this strange mix of fantasy and sci-fi and Tepper does it so well. She mixes things up and little by little I get to understand this world. Is it Earth? Is it a new planet? Is it a fantasy world? Well, I will not tell you that, read and see. What I can tell you is that it is a world that got destroyed by war, by stupidity, by humans. Some left for another planet and those left behind struggled to get by. In the countryside there are villages and farmers. In the show more cities gangs rule with weapons. In Archetypal villages archetypes live; oracles, prophets, heroes, princesses, witches. Why? To save the rest from those who might cause trouble. There are also Edgers who live behinds walls and have technology, and the place of power where Families rule and use androids. But there are also ogres and dragons in the forest. Like I said, nothing is what it seems.

There you go, a world so strange, but still very real. There are reasons for everything and we get to know why things are like they are. Books are burned if they are older than 50 years, because if you can’t read about the past, you can’t remember it and you can’t go to war over silly things. There are people out there trying to save nature. And while I read I kept wondering what, and how. The clues are there and it was so fun finding out more. I love a well created world and that it sure is.

About the story then. Well a young man leaves for the city and becomes a ganger. And orphan is taken to an archetypal village and at the place of power a woman wants just that, power, and to go to the stars. These stories are all connected. I liked Abasio, the boy who leaves for the city. He knows the cities are bad, his own mum had been a gangers concubine and fled. But still he leaves. Orphan is a mystery, and someone is out after her. But she is just a sweet girl. And then there are others that they meet, good people, and bad people.

I liked it, it was a freaky book, in a good way. I love fantasy so of course I was all over that angle, and sci-fi is fun too. This mix here, more fantasy than sci-fi is another great mix. There is technology, just not much, or used that much. Therefore it makes it the more interesting. She also has a way to keep you interested, because you can’t see anything coming.

What to call this book then? Post-apocalyptic, dystopia, fantasy, sci-fi, your call. Whatever suits you. And that is also its strong side, it can be something for everyone.

Conclusion:
I do recommend it if you want to try something different. Tepper is a master storyteller and she will keep on surprising you. show less

Sheri Tepper writes often complex novels dealing with complex issues. A Plague of Angels is no exception. Both hard-headed and also slipping toward fantasy at times, the story is set in the far future and includes monsters, heroes and radioactive androids as well as farmers and cities, talking animals and a lot more. The plot is simple, a quest or perhaps double quest that leads to a conflict between those who seek domination of the world and those who want to live free lives in harmony with all the earth. So there's an ecological message as well.

There was way too much going on in this book for my taste. And I found it to be overlong. It was a vaguely dystopian fable with a huge cast of characters and some creaky plot devices. I finished it, but it was a slog. It was cluttered up with so much extra stuff that there were two, maybe three novels worth of stories, and I'm of the opinion that they would have been better teased apart.

"A slow start, a good middle, an ending that wasn't totally satisfying" is the way I'd sum up this book. As usual with Tepper, there is some strong social messaging...this time on the theme of the environment.

Not sure about this yet. It's not grabbing me like Gate to Women's Country did...

Political intrigue in one plotline, young woman struggling to find her indentity and way in the world... yet a third plotline with a young man who is aimlessly living a crime filled life, although he seems to only be stuck in it because he doesn't have any good way out... so far this still seems like three different books. Not just three plotlines that I'm waiting on to converge... but really three different books.

...

Ok, this book was really interesting. The three plotlines did of course converge, and some other intriguing characters and events came into the story as well...